The Liu family started their meal, and Yang Meifeng brought the braised pork to the table, urging Lin Jianshe to eat quickly.

“Come on, Jianshe, eat the braised pork.”

Liu Yong was as hungry as a starving ghost reincarnated.

He grabbed a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth. Before he even swallowed, his chopsticks were already reaching out again.

“Slap.” Yang Meifeng tapped his hand with her chopsticks. “Take less. This is specially made for your brother-in-law.”

Lin Jianshe said, “No worries. Qin Qin and I ate braised pork just yesterday. Let Xiao Yong eat more.”

“That won’t do. This was specially made by Mom for you.” Yang Meifeng said as she put three pieces of braised pork on his plate.

“Mom, you’re so unfair. Who exactly is your real son?” Liu Yong pouted in dissatisfaction.

Yang Meifeng glanced at Lin Jianshe and praised, “Your brother-in-law is handsome, works well, smart, and capable. How could I not favor him? If you were as capable as your brother-in-law, I’d be laughing in my dreams.”

Liu Jianping also told his son, “Xiao Yong, you need to learn from your brother-in-law.”

Lin Jianshe felt embarrassed being praised by his mother-in-law and father-in-law like that.

His own parents never praised him so much.

When he first returned from the countryside to the city, his father saw him wandering around all day and looked down on him, saying he was idle and good-for-nothing.

“Jianshe, Xiao Yong is young and doesn’t know better. You’re older than him as the brother-in-law, so teach him more in the future.” Yang Meifeng smiled at her son-in-law.

Lin Jianshe nodded vigorously, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll definitely teach Xiao Yong more. Xiao Yong, if you don’t understand something or need help from your brother-in-law, come to me first. Don’t be shy.”

Yang Meifeng and her husband exchanged a glance and smiled quietly.

If they didn’t act especially good in front of Lin Jianshe, flattering him to the sky, how would he willingly help Xiao Yong and their Liu family later?

Yang Meifeng and Liu Jianping knew well that they didn’t have the ability to build up any family assets for their son.

They didn’t want to suffer either. Life is only about thirty thousand days, and they wanted it to be easier.

Their son Liu Yong was lazy, fond of eating, and always causing trouble.

They barely helped him clean up his mess, let alone depend on him when they got old.

The only person the old couple could rely on was Lin Jianshe, their son-in-law.

So they had to coax him to feel close to the Liu family.

In the afternoon, Lin Jianshe proudly held Liu Qin’s hand as they returned to Yard No. 18.

“Aunt Wang is washing clothes.” Lin Jianshe greeted Aunt Wang who was sitting by the drainage ditch washing clothes.

Aunt Wang gave him a disdainful look and rolled her eyes. “Oh, isn’t this Jianshe? Are you back with your wife to visit your in-laws?”

“Yes, my mother-in-law and father-in-law treated me well. They knew I like braised pork, so they specially made some for me.” Lin Jianshe bragged proudly.

Aunt Wang said, “Oh, then you came back at a bad time. Your dad took your elder brother, sister-in-law, and nephew to a state-run restaurant for a meal at noon. They said it was great.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Qin’s face darkened.

She pulled her hand out of Lin Jianshe’s and angrily walked inside.

In the living room, she saw her father-in-law holding a small radio, listening to an opera, humming, then flicking his head and going into her and Lin Jianshe’s room.

They went out to eat at a restaurant while she and Jianshe were out visiting — what was that supposed to mean?

“Qin Qin.” Seeing his wife angry, Lin Jianshe hurried to follow her.

“Pfft.” Aunt Wang spat towards Lin Jianshe’s back.

His own mother cooked braised pork for him but he never bragged about how well she treated him.

Lin Jianshe entered the room and saw his father sitting on a chair.

He frowned and asked, “Dad, what do you mean? Why did you go to a restaurant only when Qin Qin and I weren’t home?”

Lin Yongnian had been unable to eat meat even when he went out, so he was already annoyed.

When questioned by his second son, he snapped back, “What’s wrong with that? Your old man wanted to eat some braised pork at a restaurant. Do you need to get my permission?”

“It’s not about permission. We are family. If you’re going out to eat well, you should all go together. Not bringing Qin Qin and me is like eating alone.” Lin Jianshe pouted.

To put it bluntly, his father was just favoring the eldest son because the eldest son had given him a grandson.

Hey, he never said that this little brat was eating alone, yet this little brat was the one complaining.

“Sounds like you and Liu Qin ate alone yesterday and didn’t even bring your old man!” Lin Yongnian mocked.

Lin Jianshe was stunned. How did Dad know he and Qin Qin had eaten alone?

“When did I ever eat alone with Qin Qin?”

Words without proof — no evidence, so better to deny it first.

This was Lin Jianshe’s lifelong strategy.

“You opened your mouth yesterday and I smelled braised pork. ‘When did I eat alone with Qin Qin?’” Lin Yongnian mimicked Lin Jianshe’s tone with a pout.

Lin Jianshe awkwardly scratched his nose. “We just passed by the state-run restaurant and craved it. It was a spur of the moment.”

“Spur of the moment? If you really cared, you wouldn’t have forgotten to pack one for your old man, huh?” Lin Yongnian sneered.

Knowing he was wrong, Lin Jianshe lowered his head and went into the room.

Liu Qin had heard everything.

Seeing him come in, she said, “Your dad is so petty. Knowing we ate alone, he deliberately took your elder brother’s family to the restaurant while we were away. Your elder brother’s family really took advantage.”

The big house’s three members probably spent two or three yuan on that meal.

Hearing this, Lin Jianshe also thought his father was too petty.

His in-laws would rather skip eating braised pork themselves so he could eat more, but his dad wanted to get back at him just because he ate alone, taking only the eldest brother’s family out.

“Hmph, my dad and mom are both petty, can’t compare with your parents.”

Liu Qin glanced at him but didn’t reply.

On weekends, it was Zhang Jiao’s turn to cook.

Although Liu Qin went back to her parents’ house yesterday, they didn’t eat at home for lunch.

Liu Qin still cooked dinner when she returned.

The Lin family worked on weekends, only Saturday was a day off.

Liu Qin worked in the service industry with an irregular schedule but tried to arrange her day off on Saturdays.

Last week, Lin Jianshe and Liu Qin got married. The family was busy, and the Lin family members who worked took an extra day off.

Hearing noise next door, Zhang Jiao yawned and got up.

At six in the morning, the air was already quite cool.

Zhang Jiao washed up quickly, grabbed her vegetable basket, and went out.

She met many neighbors on the way.

“Zhang Jiao, you’ve been married into the Lin family for so many years, but this is the first time I see you getting up so early to buy vegetables.”

Zhang Jiao was very tired, yawning as she nodded perfunctorily.

“Since the mother-in-law isn’t home, these chores fall to the daughter-in-law now, don’t they?”

“When Li Shuping was home, I never saw Zhang Jiao buying vegetables or cooking. The clothes were all washed by the mother-in-law. I’ve never seen a mother-in-law treat a daughter-in-law this well. Among all the families in Yard No. 18, Zhang Jiao is the most pampered daughter-in-law.”

Hearing this, Zhang Jiao felt uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed.

It made her seem like a lazy daughter-in-law who never did anything, even relying on her mother-in-law to wash her clothes.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do housework or laundry — it was just that the mother-in-law did it all, so she had no chance.

Zhang Jiao muttered in her heart and quickened her pace to leave behind the gossiping neighbors.

At the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhang Jiao spent seven cents on a tael of fatty pork, two cents on two jin of potatoes, and one cent on a jin of cabbage.

She spent just ten cents on vegetables, and had already calculated that if she spent ten cents a day on vegetables until the end of the month, she could still save two yuan.

Zhang Jiao thought she had been very wise splitting the grocery shopping from Liu Qin.

Thinking she could save several yuan a month from buying vegetables, Zhang Jiao felt all her early rising hardship was worthwhile.

On the way home, the breeze felt sweet.